Minister launches new resources to keep families safe online

Friday, June 4, 2010

Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy has launched a valuable new resource to protect young people on the internet at Northland School in Wellington today.

"Hector's World is an innovative website featuring lessons, music and information to help educate children on staying safe while on-line.

"The new material launched today deals with privacy, computer security and introduces children to topics like viruses and strong passwords.

"The programmes teach children to use their skills and knowledge to protect themselves, friends and families. These are great messages for young children as they start their lives online.

"Hector's World is a registered New Zealand charity, and this new initiative is funded by the Department of Internal Affair's Community Partnership Fund (CPF).

"Already the resources provided by Hector's World have been adopted by the Australian and UK governments, and today's new resources have the backing of the Privacy Commission.

"This programme complements the other measures the Department of Internal Affairs has underway to protect New Zealanders online. These include the work of the Anti-Spam Compliance Unit, the Censorship Compliance Unit and the new voluntary web filtering system."